Beauty and the Beast
by Mouse in the Midnight
Summary: Loki/Reader. In order to save your friend's life, you agree to stay with Loki, a cruel man whose palace you accidentally discover in the woods. Little do you know of the enchanted rose that holds his fate in the balance. Based upon Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
1. Prologue

_Once upon a time, in a distant realm, a young god lived in a shining palace. Although he had everything his heart desired, the god was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. One winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the palace, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the god sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. When he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The god tried to persuade her, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a mortal, and banished him and his palace to a mortal realm. Filled with rage and plans for vengeance, the former god concealed himself inside his palace, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside realms. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a mortal for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope… for who could ever learn to love the god of mischief?_


	2. Chapter 1

"(Y/N)."

"... hmm…?"

"Earth to (Y/N). Hellooooo? Anybody in there?"

You gradually peeled your gaze away from the words on the pages before you, feeling your friend's knuckles rapping into the side of your skull. You directed an unamused glare upwards into her impatiently grinning face.

"Knock, knock." (B/F/N) chuckled, leaning over you with one hand on her kneecaps and the other lightly knocking your head like a door. "Your nose was so stuck in that book, I thought I'd have to go and grab a crowbar to pry it out!"

You rolled your eyes and nudged her hand away from your head. "Don't be knockin' it."

(B/F/N) snorted at your pun and plopped down beside you in the grass. She scooted close and peered nosily over your shoulder. "What are you reading, anyhow?"

Placing a velvet bookmark between its pages, you closed your book and tenderly lay it upon your lap. "Oh… you know the story I told you about… far-off places, daring swordfights, magic spells, and a prince in disguise?" Your lips curved easily into a smile, your head resting backwards against the broad trunk of the tree under which you had been seated.

"You're reading it _again_?"

"Well, it's my favourite."

"But you've read it twice." (B/F/N) shook her head with feigned pity. "Oh, (Y/N). You and your head up in some cloud. You've been like that since you moved here, when we were kids."

"I like my stories…" You admitted, your voice growing soft with sheepishness, and slid down against the trunk a little.

Your best friend flopped over onto her back, crossing her arms behind her neck. "But, (Y/N)… stories are just stories. You've got your whole life ahead of you. We're not kids anymore, ya know?"

"I know that, but… does that mean I have to let go of my dreams?" You frowned slightly.

"No. It means you have to get out there and make them come true!" (B/F/N) untangled one arm from behind her neck and waved it around emphatically. "Your storybook prince is out there waiting. He could be right here in this little town!"

"Yeah, right… you're the only one in this little town I can talk to. Everyone else thinks I'm odd." You brushed back a single strand of hair that had fallen over your eyes.

"… Gaston is pretty hot."

You nearly choked on your own breath, aghast at that statement. "Oh, right. And rude. And conceited." You huffed. "I'm not compromising my dreams, either, (B/F/N). Please do not even mention that name."

"Okay, then…" (B/F/N)'s gaze had drifted away from your own stern one. She was watching a broad-shouldered frame of a person making his way over the hill towards you. "I won't."

Your eyebrows furrowed slightly, your eyes following her gaze, until the former raised so high they nearly collided with your hairline and the latter widened to the size of saucers. You recognized the guy striding confidently your way as one of the most popular people in your small town.

"Gaston!" You found the name instead escaping your own mouth.

"Hello, (Y/N)." His deep voice was smooth as silk and dripping with all the sweetness of honey. He spread out a charming smile across his chiseled features, nearly blinding you with the unnatural whiteness of his perfectly straight teeth. "I've been looking for you all over."

"Too bad I've been avoiding you all over," you muttered, and grunted when your best friend gave you a meaningful little kick. Sending her a disapproving scowl, you lifted your book open and hid your face behind it, in hopes that Gaston would decide not to bother you.

Instead, Gaston decided to pluck the book from your hands. To your further dismay, he held it open with one hand, bending the fragile binding. "What is this even supposed to be?" One of his thick eyebrows twitched in exasperation, as he turned the book over and studied its cover, which was a blank blue save for the golden inscription of the book's title. "How can you _read_ this? There's no _pictures_."

"You know, some people use their imagination." Right now, you were using your imagination to plot Gaston's demise. "Can I have my book back?" It took every fiber within your being not to karate chop him in the gut for swiping something so personal.

Gaston shook his head, holding your book up over both of your heads, out of your reach. "(Y/N,) you should get out more often. Why don't you join me for dinner at my place? I recently spruced up the place and added in a huge shelf to display all my trophies. You should take a look at them."

You resisted the urge to gag. Gaston was incredibly good at sports, as well as hunting, which both hobbies assumedly lent to his unbelievably fit and muscular physique. Any other girl in this town would be swooning at the mere thought of him. You, on the other hand, could not be any more unimpressed. "Uhm, no. Maybe some other time. Ten years ago, for instance."

"Aw, come onnnn..." Gaston moved one brawny arm around your shoulders, a pout forming on his lips. "I know you're not busy. You need to get your head out of those books and pay attention to more important things."

"What, like you?"

"Well, yeah." He batted his eyelashes.

"…"

"…"

"… good-bye, Gaston."

He sighed long and loudly and tossed the book back at you. Your fingers barely snagged it before it would have rolled down the hill and landed in a grove of thick weeds. You felt obliged to throw it at the back of Gaston's head as he turned heel to swagger away, but your better nature told you not to abuse your book like that.

"Have fun with all your _friends_ , (Y/N)!" He called over his shoulder, pausing for a moment to send you a final, devilishly charismatic smirk, then disappearing back over the hill.

You didn't even wait for him to get out of earshot before you let out a roar of frustration. "Can you believe that… that… that boorish, brainless…!"

Your best friend had rolled over onto her stomach and rested her chin in her hands, dreamily sighing. "Those cheekbones… that chin…"

"Ugh, not you, too." You held your head in your hand for a moment.

"(Y/N), come on. He's not that bad. And he's gorgeous." (B/F/N) shook her head. "I mean… in all fairness, he is the only guy that goes out of his way to talk to you. Maybe you need to give him a chance. Maybe he's your storybook prince."

You finally looked down at the book in your hands, the biting anger at Gaston slowly mixing with stinging despair towards your own existence.. "Maybe I want more than that… Maybe I want so much more… than this provincial life."

You looked to the side and gazed out at the rolling hills beyond you. The breeze blew softly around you, gently rustling fields of tall grass and dandelions, above which stood a mighty mountain against the horizon. Your heart pounded with so many emotions at the sight of it.

"… I want adventure in the great wide somewhere." You whispered, and though your voice was hushed, you were certain the wind was carrying your words to the world beyond. "I want it more than I can tell. And, you know… for once, it might be grand… to have someone… understand." You stretched your hand outwards, feeling like you could almost touch the top of the mountain. "I want so much more than they've got planned."

Moments passed in silence.

Your best friend finally rose to her feet, dusting off her clothes from having lain in the grass. "Well, then… let's go find it!"

"Huh?" You turned to her, blinking. "Find… what?"

"Adventure in the great wide somewhere, of course! Silly rabbit." She responded, as if it were obvious.

You barely had the chance to formulate a sentence, much less a question as to what on earth your best friend could possibly mean by that, before she had snatched your hand within hers and took off down the hill.

She was leading you away, beyond the outskirts of the little town full of little people, towards the majestic mountain that had captivated your heart, into the mysterious woods that were nestled at the foot of the mountain.


End file.
